


Love Will Steer the Stars

by alleycat35



Category: Hair - MacDermot/Rado/Ragni, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Broadway, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Hair: the Musical, Harry as George Berger, Hippies, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Liam as Claude Bukowski, Liam-centric, Lirry - Freeform, Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Musicals, Pining, Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-04-20 11:13:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4785311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleycat35/pseuds/alleycat35
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Liam reluctantly agrees to audition for a musical at Zayn's request, he doesn't expect to get the part, let alone fall for his costar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ebb_tide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebb_tide/gifts).



> September 12th - Happy Frank Mills day to all you Hair fans out there! :)

Liam stared at the computer screen, still not able to process what he was seeing. It just didn’t seem possible.

With a shaking hand, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his best friend’s number.

“Liam!” came the voice on the other end. “You got it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Liam said, a shaky smile rising to his lips. “I got a callback.”

“I knew it!” Zayn exclaimed, the smile obvious in his voice.

“It-it says I got called back for Claude,” Liam said weakly. “They must have made a mistake. This can’t be real.”

“Shut up, Liam,” Zayn said. “You killed it at the auditions. I could hear you through the doors.”

“Zayn…” Liam groaned. He had promised he wouldn’t listen.

“I know, I’m sorry, but you were amazing,” Zayn said. “It’s really no surprise.”

“Please tell me you got called back, too,” Liam said.

Zayn laughed. “I did. I got a callback for Woof.”

Liam beamed. “For Woof? That is amazing. You would be so perfect.”

“I feel like I’ve got a decent shot if no one else can hit that note,” Zayn said with a laugh. “I’m looking forward to checking out the competition.”

Liam’s heart sank. “Wish I could say the same.”

“Oh, come on, Liam,” Zayn said. “They’re going to love you. Besides, you said it yourself that it was just for fun. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Yeah,” Liam echoed. “Nothing to lose.”

Zayn let out a little whoop. “I’m buzzin’. I’m so glad I talked to you into this. This is perfect. We’re going to… wait, shit, I’ve got to run now… someone’s calling me. But I’ll see you tomorrow! Pick you up at five, yeah?”

“Yeah, all right,” Liam agreed. “Bye, Zayn!”

“See you soon, Claude!” Zayn said gleefully, hanging up before Liam could protest.

Liam put his phone down on his desk and scrubbed his hands across his face. There was no way that any of this was happening. The audition had been a great experience, but he hadn’t actually expected anything to come of it. After all, he had no experience with theatre of any kind. Knowing how much Liam loved to sing, Zayn had spent an entire week trying to talk Liam into accompanying him to the auditions for a local theatre company’s production of _Hair._ Liam went with Zayn for moral support but agreed at the last minute to try out himself, just for fun. He had never auditioned for anything before, so he went in under the assumption that he didn’t stand a chance. Now here he was, just a few days later, pinching himself upon finding out that he had received a callback for the _leading role._

It was no surprise that Zayn had been called back as well. Zayn was in his third year of dramatic studies and had already been involved in a number of local productions. In fact, he had already worked with the same director that was now in charge of _Hair._ He was a brilliant singer with a natural flair for acting, and while he seemed shy and reserved to people that didn't know him very well, he came alive in front of an audience and felt at home on the stage.

Liam and Zayn had been best friends since Liam was a freshman in high school, and Liam had always enjoyed going to Zayn’s performances. Over the years, Zayn had succeeded in getting Liam hooked on a number of Broadway musicals, but the music from _Hair_ had been Liam’s favourite by far. This was likely why Liam finally gave in and auditioned, despite his initial reluctance. Performing Manchester England for the director and other judges had been surprisingly fun, but he never would have assumed that he would have been worthy of any role in the play, let alone the role of Claude Hooper Bukowski.

He shook his head vigorously from side to side as if attempting to rid the thought from his mind. He couldn't get his hopes up. His audition had gone remarkably well despite his lack of experience, but that didn't mean he was good enough to actually get cast. Nonetheless, he was having an awfully hard time wiping the smile off of his face, and he knew that he was going to have an even harder time sleeping that night.

******************************

Liam stuck his head out the front door, his toothbrush hanging from his mouth, and held up his index finger to signal to Zayn that he would be along shortly. Zayn took his hand off of the car horn and grinned at Liam.

Liam rolled his eyes as he ducked back into the house to finish brushing his teeth. When he stepped back into the bathroom, he spat into the sink and glanced up at himself in the mirror as he wiped his mouth. He frowned slightly at his reflection and ran his fingers through his fringe, trying to get it to lie in place. His eyes fell to the green plaid shirt that he was wearing, and he briefly contemplated changing it before he was startled by Zayn laying on the horn again. Taking a deep breath and releasing it as a heavy sigh, Liam glanced at himself in the mirror one last time before hurrying out the door, grabbing his wallet and backpack off of the coffee table along the way.

Zayn was still beaming at Liam as he approached the car and opened the door.

"Aquaaaaa-riiii-ussssssss..." Zayn sang as Liam climbed in.

"Shut up, Zayn," Liam mumbled, buckling his seat belt.

Zayn chuckled to himself as he put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. "You're so nervous," he said. "It's adorable."

"Ugggghhhhh," Liam groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"What are you so anxious about?" Zayn asked. "You didn't seem to care at all when we were waiting for the first audition."

"Because I didn't," Liam exclaimed, uncovering his face. "That was just for the hell of it. I didn't think I actually stood a chance. Now that there's actually a possibility of... I don't know," he whined, tilting his head back against the headrest. "Besides, the first time, it was just in front of the judges. Now it's in front of everyone."

Zayn smiled and patted Liam lightly on the thigh, careful to keep his eyes on the road. "This is still just for the hell of it," he said. "Just go in there and do your thing. And who knows? You just might get it. You've got as good of a chance as anybody else."

"That is NOT true, and you know it," Liam retorted. "I've never performed for anyone, ever. I don't have any experience or training. I don't know anything!"

"You're a music major," Zayn countered. "You know all the theory and how to harmonize and shit. They'll love that. And besides, so what if you haven't performed before? You've been singing your whole life."

Liam shrugged.

"Just have fun," Zayn continued. "They'll love you. Even if we don't get the parts, maybe they'll still put us both in the tribe. How sick would that be?"

Liam smirked. "Then we could struggle through the choreography together."

Zayn snickered. "Yeah, can't say I'm looking forward to the dance auditions."

Liam took some comfort in knowing that even Zayn, a seasoned performer, harboured some amount of anxiety over the auditions.

"What song do you have to sing for Woof?" Liam asked.

Zayn's mouth twitched. "Sodomy," he said. "And don't you DARE look at me while I'm up there, or I'm not going to be able to keep a straight face."

Liam grinned, now visibly relaxed. As nerve-wracking as the entire experience was, it was bound to be good for a few laughs at the very least.

As they rounded the corner and pulled into the parking lot of the hall where the auditions were being held, Liam spotted a large group of girls filing out of the entrance.

"Where are they going?" Liam asked.

"They held the auditions for the females earlier in the day," Zayn said. "They probably just fini... oh... oh God..."

"Zayn!" Liam said sharply, startling slightly as Zayn cut the wheel too hard and drove over the curb.

"Sorry..." Zayn mumbled, tearing his gaze away from the door and carefully pulling into a parking spot.

Liam glanced back over toward the girls, smiling when he spotted what had captured Zayn's attention.

"That girl," Liam said, pointing to a leggy blonde whose head was thrown back in laughter. "She looks familiar."

"Mmmhmmm..." Zayn said dismissively, putting the car in park.

"Isn't she the one from that Legally Blonde musical you dragged me to see?" Liam said, leaning over and giving Zayn a nudge. Zayn and his classmates received extra credit when they successfully recruited friends to come see university productions, but Liam suspected that Zayn's interest in the Legally Blonde musical had extended beyond the bonus marks.

"Yeah, that's Perrie," Zayn sighed. "The most beautiful girl who doesn't know I exist."

"Just go in there and do your thing," Liam teased. "You've got as good of a chance as anybody else."

"Oh, fuck you, Liam," Zayn said, but Liam caught his mouth twitching into a smile as the two of them climbed out of the car.

Once inside the hall, they signed in at a table set up in the hallway and grabbed a pair of name tags. They were then shown into a spacious room with a piano and a set of around twenty-five chairs arranged in a circle. They were among the first to arrive, so they sat down side-by-side on the far side of the circle, facing the door. They couldn't resist scoping out the competition.

They chatted quietly as the other auditionees began to trickle in, placing bets on which ones were going to be the best performers. It was a seemingly pointless exercises, but the light distraction served its purpose of keeping Liam's nerves at bay.

"Didn't that guy go to our high school?" Liam asked, nodding toward the mop-topped boy that had just walked in.

Zayn smiled. "Yeah, that's Louis Tomlinson. He's a year above me. Tommo!"

The boy looked up when he heard his name called and smiled when he caught sight of Liam and Zayn. "All right, lads!" he said, ambling over and taking a seat next to Zayn.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" Zayn asked.

"Yeah. Just see you around the uni every now and then," Louis replied. "And Liam, right? Good to see you, mate!"

Liam smiled at Louis and opened his mouth to ask him a question but was interrupted by a light nudge from Zayn.

"Look," Zayn said, pointing. "There's actually one guy who doesn't need a wig."

Liam looked up, instantly forgetting whatever he had been planning to say to Louis. The tall, lanky figure hovering in the doorway belonged to a young boy who had perhaps the most impressive hair Liam had ever seen on a guy. His chestnut-coloured locks fell in messy ringlets that framed his features beautifully, providing a gentle contrast to his prominent, but smooth, jawline. Perhaps even more impressive was the perfectly crooked smile formed by his strikingly dark lips and the way that it seemed to ignite his emerald eyes the moment it appeared.

"Do you know that guy?" Zayn asked.

Liam had been so captivated by the sight of this handsome stranger that he hadn't even noticed the boy standing to his left. Liam smiled in recognition when his eyes met those of the shorter blond lad waving tentatively at him.

"Yeah, that's Niall," Liam said, waving him over. "I've had a few music classes with him."

Liam hadn't quite caught onto the fact that Niall and the dark-haired boy had walked in together, but he was still caught off-guard by the way his breath hitched in his throat when he saw Niall gesturing for the latter to follow him.

"Liam," Niall smiled, extending his hand for a low-five. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Can't say I expected to see me here either," Liam said, smiling shyly as he returned the greeting, "but it sure is good to see you. This is Zayn, my mate from high school, by the way. And that's Louis."

"Charmed, Niall," Louis said, offering Niall a handshake and a grin.

"You've both got superstar-sounding names. Good start," Niall laughed, shaking hands with Louis and Zayn. "Harry and I go way back as well. Haz, this is Liam."

"Liam," the tall boy said warmly. "Pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise," Liam murmured, accepting Harry's strong handshake without hesitation.

"Who are you auditioning for, Niall?" Zayn asked curiously.

"Just a tribe member," Niall said. "I've never done anything like this before... don't think I could handle any of the leads."

"Same," Louis said with a nod and an impish smile, "though I really just came to pick up girls."

Zayn nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow. "You sure came to the right place," he said, gesturing around at the roomful of men.

Louis pouted exaggeratedly, folding his arms over his chest.

"What about you boys?" Niall said, taking a seat next to Liam. "Who're you trying for?"

"Got called back for Woof," Zayn said, "and Liam got called back for Claude."

"Claude!" Niall exclaimed, patting Liam on the back. "Good for you, Liam!"

"Not gonna get it, though," Liam said sheepishly, blushing slightly.

"Well, not with that attitude, you're not!" Louis exclaimed, reaching behind Zayn to swat Liam on the shoulder.

"What about you, Harry?" Zayn asked, turning to the boy sitting just to the right of Niall.

"Berger," Harry said, smiling.

"Fitting," Zayn grinned.

"Yeah, he looks the part, doesn't he?" Niall said, ruffling Harry's curls affectionately.

As Liam took in the sight of Harry's eyes twinkling behind his now tousled hair, he felt inclined to agree. However, the role of George Berger was a demanding one, and Liam was incredibly curious to see how Harry would perform.

The five boys looked up as the director called their attention to the front of the room and began explaining how the auditions would proceed. Liam shifted nervously in his seat, instantly regretting the fact that he and Zayn had chatted idly in the car in lieu of warming up. It was too late to worry about that now, though. He would just have to do his absolute best to ensure that he didn't miss a note.

Before he knew it, the auditions were starting. The director invited the fair-haired boy sitting to the right of him to begin, and they continued moving counterclockwise around the circle. It became readily apparent that the competition was fierce; there was an astounding amount of vocal talent in the room. In Liam's mind, there were a few particularly memorable performances. The second performer to audition immediately seemed like a shoe-in for the role of Hud, with his deep, gravelly vocals and incredible charm. There was also a tall, stocky fellow named John (vying for the role of Claude) who showed off his vibrant personality with his rendition of I Got Life. Overall, though, Liam was finding it somewhat difficult to pay attention; his turn was approaching far too quickly for his liking.

Louis was the first of the five of them to audition. As calm and collected as he had seemed while they had been chatting beforehand, Liam thought he saw Louis' knees start to wobble as he stood up and headed over to take his place by the piano.

Clearing his throat as matter-of-factly as he could, he said, "My name is Louis, and I'll be singing My Conviction."

 _My Conviction,_ Liam thought. Louis was a brave man, taking on the song sung by a character in drag. As the lighthearted piano music started up, however, Liam saw Louis duck his head to conceal his already furtive smile, raising it just in time to begin the verse.

It immediately became clear why Louis had chosen such an eccentric song for his audition piece. The melody was perfect for showcasing his vocal range, and his playful sense of humour shone through in his delivery. Liam and the others marveled at the way that Louis' voice lifted effortlessly to the high A and rose to a powerful crescendo. The solo was punctuated with a series of cheers amidst scattered laughter.

"Where the hell did that come from, Tommo?" Zayn hissed as Louis sat back down.

Louis shrugged, smiling coyly. "I'm just full of surprises. Now show us yours."

Zayn assumed his position on the other end of the circle, as Louis had, and announced that he would be singing Sodomy. He was brilliant, but Liam was not surprised in the slightest. He avoided making eye contact with Zayn, knowing that doing so while Zayn sang the word "fellatio" would derail the entire performance. However, Liam could not stop himself from raising his head to beam at Zayn as he hit the signature falsetto at the very end of the song. In contrast to those around him, Liam's eyes shone with more pride than wonder.

Zayn let out a satisfied exhale at the end of the song, nodding and smiling politely in response to the hearty applause.

"You've got this, Payno," he whispered as he returned to his spot next to Liam.

Liam took a deep, shaky breath as he rose to his feet. This was it.

He slowly approached the piano and whispered his song choice to the pianist, then turned to face the crowd. Amid the sea of unfamiliar faces, four friendly ones beamed at him from the other side of the circle. He felt instantly comforted by the knowing look from Zayn, the oddly suggestive nod from Louis, and the smiles and "thumbs up" from Harry and Niall.

"My name is Liam Payne," he said confidently, "and I'll be singing Where Do I Go?"

His face automatically adopted a somber expression as the piano music began in the background. He had chosen one of the most powerful pieces of music in the entire show, and he desperately hoped that he could do it justice.

"Where do I go?" he sang, "Follow the river.  
Where do I go? Follow the gulls.  
Where is the something, where is the someone  
that tells me why I live and die?"

His eyes now bright with passion, he reached out toward the crowd as if pleading for answers. It all felt so surprisingly natural to him, the way that he connected with the lyrics and, in turn, with the audience. His gaze drifted upward until it fell upon Harry. Had he not been so invested in his performance, Liam would have burst out laughing. Harry was staring back at him, awe-struck, as though he were a small child seeing a rainbow for the first time.

Liam tore his gaze away from Harry in favour of turning toward the judges. He was now about halfway through the song, but though each auditionee was required to sing no more than twenty-four bars of his or her chosen song, the director was gesturing for Liam to keep going. Immediately filled with a sense of pride and vigour, Liam pressed onward, latching onto every note and baring his entire soul as the song reached its climax. He belted out the final note with more confidence than he had ever felt and was startled back to consciousness by the thunderous applause that followed.

He blinked slowly, his face breaking into a bashful, bewildered smile.

"Thank... thank you," he stammered, hastily returning to his seat.

He was instantly greeted with a pat on the back and an "I told you so" from Zayn.

"Brilliant, mate," Niall whispered.

Liam turned to find Niall staring not at him but straight ahead, eyeing the piano like a deer in the headlights.

"Good luck, Niall," Liam whispered. "You'll kill it."

Niall nodded vigorously, not registering a single word that Liam was saying, then rose to his feet as he prepared for his turn to take on the beast.

As soon as Niall was out of the way, Harry leaned across his empty chair, whispering in Liam's ear. "That was absolutely incredible, Liam. I'm just... my God, that was perfect."

The sensation of the hot breath on Liam's ear was nothing in comparison to the heat that rose to his cheeks because of it. "Th-thanks..." Liam whispered back with a shudder, withdrawing from Harry just enough to ensure that he would not be burned.

Harry smiled and squeezed Liam's shoulder affectionately. "You're absolutely brilliant," he said. "You were born to play Claude."

Liam wasn't sure how he could be expected to be capable of responding, but fortunately for him, Niall's audition was about to begin.

"My... my name's Niall Horan," he said. "I'm going to try The Flesh Failures."

It was an ambitious song for Niall's audition, but though his voice trembled slightly in some of the longer phrases, he sang it beautifully. He stared ahead stoically as his surprisingly low and powerful voice filled the large room. Though Niall's nervousness was apparent, Liam found his entire performance very moving.

The four of them cheered loudly with the others when his solo was over, welcoming him back to his spot with enthusiastic pats on the back as he plopped down heavily in his chair.

"That was terrifying," he whispered.

Liam smiled, giving Niall's shoulder a shake. "You were fantastic."

A relieved, almost sleepy-looking smile spread across Niall's face.

Harry gave Niall one last slap on the thigh before he stood up to face his own audition.

Liam's smile melted away from his face as he sat up a little straighter in anticipation of Harry's performance, almost overwhelmed with curiosity.

"I'm Harry," Harry said with a bright smile. "I'll be singing Donna."

Liam folded his hands in his lap as the piano music started up. He watched Harry look down at the floor and shuffle his feet a bit, as if making himself comfortable in his spot. Now Liam was even more curious to see what this intriguing young lad had up his sleeve. Donna was a challenging and energetic song, and it was crucial in establishing Berger's character early on in the show. It was time for Harry to prove that he was worthy of playing it.

Nothing could have prepared Liam for the way that Harry came alive the moment it was time for him to sing. He jumped up into the air and landed firmly on the ground with bent knees just as the first line began. He stretched his arms out ahead of him, reaching out to the audience as he belted out his story.

And that voice...

His _voice,_ with its smooth, majestic tone that he manipulated in all sorts of ways as he navigated through the song's difficult phrasing, left Liam slack-jawed and stupefied. Nonetheless, what was even more captivating about Harry's performance was the way he moved, sauntering around within the circle and gesturing in ways that seemed so manic, yet so controlled. More importantly, he managed to engage each and every member of his audience, reaching out to touch them and singing to each of them individually. He would get down on his knees in front of the judges and sing passionately about his tireless pursuit of love, only to leap up almost immediately and fall into the lap of the boy sitting next to their table.

Liam watched, completely mesmerized, as Harry tumbled to his feet and continued to move around the circle.

"Have you seen my sixteen-year-old tattooed woman?" Harry sang out, drumming gently on Niall's knees. "Heard her story..." He reached out and trailed his fingers along the edge of Liam's face as he sang, "She got busted for her beauty..."

A collective laugh from which Liam was excluded rang out from the crowd. Liam, his heart pounding, offered little response to Harry's gesture and could do nothing more than continue to watch as Harry danced jubilantly in the center of the ring. He was robbed of his ability to think for the better part of the verse, but he was brought back to life the moment that Harry began to belt out the highest note of the song. Never in a million years would Liam have expected such a powerful voice to burst forth from Harry's lithe body.

When Harry's solo was over, he responded to the deafening cheers with a smile and halfhearted shrug, followed by a quick bow.

"Jesus Christ," Niall muttered, applauding Harry with all his might. "I knew he was good, but..."

When Harry sat back down, Louis and Zayn leaned across Liam to join Niall in singing Harry's praises. Liam wanted more than anything to chime in, to put into words just how incredible Harry's performance had been, but he couldn't. There simply were no words.

Harry humbly thanked them, flashing them his million-dollar smile before turning his attention to the next performer in line.

For Liam, the rest of the auditions passed by in a complete blur. Once the singing was over, he vaguely heard the director praising the talented performers in the room and thanking them for their attendance, but he missed enough of the speech to feel completely bewildered when he saw the others standing up and stretching around him.

"What... er... what're we... what's going on?" Liam asked hazily, staring straight ahead.

Zayn chuckled and patted Liam on the shoulder, assuming that he was just recovering from the nerves. "He said we're going to take a twenty-minute break before the dance auditions," he explained, "so we're just chillin' for a bit."

"Want to go grab some water, Haz?" Niall asked.

"Sure," Harry replied, standing up as Niall did the same.

"We'll be right back, lads," Niall said, heading toward the door with Harry.

"Man, that Harry is something else, isn't he?" Zayn remarked the other two walked away.

As Harry threw his head back laughing in response to something that Niall had just whispered in his ear, Liam continued struggling to understand why Harry only seemed to be capable of making the most perfect sounds he had ever heard.

"Yeah," Liam sighed. "He's something, all right."


	2. The Age is Electric

Once all of the boys had a chance to relax and get changed, the director had all of them move the chairs to one side of the room to make space for the dance audition.

"We don't expect you to master the steps or anything," the choreographer had said. "The purpose of the dance audition is just to give us an idea of how you move and how easily you can adapt to the choreography. Don't worry about getting the sequence perfect; just follow along and try to move naturally."

Liam glanced over at Zayn, biting his tongue to refrain from laughing at the look of terror that crossed his face.

Fortunately, the choreography turned out to be rather simple. It was a short piece - just four counts of eight - and the moves themselves were rather whimsical, reflecting the free-spirited nature of the musical's characters. A slide here, a turn there, an enthusiastic flip of the hair... Liam followed along as best as he could, trying to hit all of the steps while still looking "natural."

Once the boys had all had a chance to learn the steps as a group, they were asked to perform the sequence in groups of ten so that the choreographer could assess them a few at a time. Much to Liam's relief, he and Zayn were among the first to perform. The choreographer had the boys go through the sequence twice before asking them to return to their seats. 

"That could have gone a _lot_ worse," Zayn muttered to Liam as they headed back to their chairs.

"I'm just glad this room has no mirrors," Liam whispered back. "I don't even want to know what that looked like."

Harry, Niall, and Louis were all in the second group of boys. Liam and Zayn watched with curiosity as the three of them navigated through the short piece. Despite looking absolutely terrified, Niall handled the choreography rather well. Louis looked far more confident, though his brow remained knitted in concentration as he executed the steps. As for Harry, he proved to be absolutely fascinating to watch. His long limbs moved so clumsily that Liam thought he might fall over, but no; Harry remained in control of his slender frame at all times. As unnatural as his dancing should have seemed, the fact that it was so carefree and effortless made it feel so genuine. The boy was a walking paradox and a born entertainer.

"Nicely done, lads," Liam said as the three of them returned from the dance floor.

Louis cracked his knuckles as he reclined in his seat. "Didn't want to make the competition too fierce, boys," Louis said cheekily. "Tried to give you all a fighting chance out there."

"Oh, so you were holding back, then?" Harry grinned.

"Thank God," Zayn muttered, rolling his eyes. 

When the final group of boys had completed their dance auditions, the director stood up to address the crowd.

"First and foremost," he said, "I just want to thank you all for your interest in the production and for coming out to audition. Secondly, I need you all to thank _yourselves_ for coming and give yourselves a huge round of applause."

The boys applauded and cheered enthusiastically, which brought a smile to Liam's face but failed to calm his lingering nerves.

"On one hand," the director said, "I am both astounded by and extremely excited about the amount of talent that I saw in the room today, and I thank you all for sharing it with us. On the other hand, I hate all of you for making the selection process so bloody difficult."

The audition room resonated with hearty laughter.

The director smiled. "In all seriousness," he said, "you all did a fantastic job, but we've got some decisions to make tonight. We'll have the cast list posted by tomorrow night at the latest, so keep an eye on your e-mails. The first rehearsal will take place early next week. Thank you all once again, and have a great night!"

The boys all murmured a "thank you" to the director as they stood up and stacked all of the chairs.

"It was great meeting all of you," Harry said to Liam, Louis, and Zayn. "Won't be the last I see of you, will it now?"

"Of course not, Harry," Louis said. "Nobody is THAT lucky!"

"Hopefully, we'll all be seeing each other at rehearsals!" Zayn said optimistically.

"Do you lads fancy going out for a pint or summat tonight?" Niall asked as they filed out into the hallway.

"On a Wednesday night?" Louis laughed. "I guess you weren't faking the Irish accent."

Liam shook his head reluctantly. "I'd like to, but I've got a test tomorrow that I have yet to study for."

Zayn nodded. "Yeah, I should be gettin' home, too. We'll see you lads around though, yeah?"

Harry nodded. "For sure. Have a good night!" 

As Liam and Zayn headed over to their own car, Liam couldn't help but watch as Niall and Harry walked away. He certainly hoped that this wouldn't be the last he saw of Harry.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Zayn beamed as they climbed into the car. "I've got a good feeling about all of that."

Liam gazed out the window, watching Harry disappear inside Niall's car on the other end of the parking lot.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Me too."

********************************

Thursday was Liam's busiest school day; he had three back-to-back classes before one o'clock, then just an hour-long break before his guitar class. Most days, he and Zayn liked to meet up for lunch. On days like these, however, Liam just tried to find himself a quiet spot on campus to regroup before carrying on with the day. 

His nerves were a bit frayed on this particular Thursday. The first half of the day had been a complete blur. He didn't know how he could be expected to concentrate in class with the impending audition results looming over his head. He didn't even want to THINK about how he had performed on the anthropology test he had just written. All he wanted to do was put his head down and find peace for a few precious moments. 

As soon as he managed to find a vacant table in the corner of the café that was attached to the school's library, he tossed his bag on one of the chairs to claim the spot. He heaved a sigh as he plopped down heavily in the adjacent seat, folding his arms over the table and resting his head on his forearm. 

He didn't really expect to find much comfort - let alone fall asleep - before some impatient and overworked student came by, attempting to swipe his spot next to the electrical outlet. Nonetheless, it took every ounce of restraint that he had to keep from groaning when he felt the vibration from a light tap on the table. He slowly lifted his head and squinted at the paper cup that been placed before him. He glanced up with the intent of putting a face to the person who had roused him from his slumber and was startled by the shy smile that greeted him.

"Hey," Harry said softly.

Liam blinked. "...Harry?" he murmured.

Harry slid the cup forward on the table. "You looked like you could use come coffee."

Liam blinked again, letting his gaze drift downward to the cup. "Well... I mean, thank you!" he said, silently blaming his quickening pulse on the fact that he was just jolted awake.

Harry chuckled. "You seem oddly baffled."

Liam straightened up in his chair and hastily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Just didn't expect to see you here."

Harry pulled out the chair in front of him and took a seat opposite Liam. "Same. I didn't know you were a student here. What are you taking?"

"Music theory," Liam replied. "Second year." 

Harry's face lit up. "Really? That's fantastic! Maybe could give me lessons!"

Liam laughed. "What kind of lessons?"

"Singing," Harry said. "If they're crazy enough to cast me in that musical, I'm going to need all the help I can get!"

This caught Liam off-guard. "You don't seem like you need any lessons at all," he said. "You're a natural."

Harry shook his head. "I love singing," he said, "but I don't know what I'm doing. I've tried harmonizing before, and I guess it works out sometimes, but it's just luck. I don't know any of the theory behind it... and I have no technique whatsoever."

"Believe me when I say that it doesn't show," Liam said earnestly, gratefully helping himself to the offered coffee.

"Well, thank you," Harry smiled, "but I really could use your help. I mean, if you're willing. Any advice you have would be amazing."

Liam had assumed that Harry had just been making polite conversation, but the eagerness in his eyes told a different story. He seemed quite serious.

"Well, I mean..." Liam faltered. "Of course! If you really want, I could... I don't know... I could show you what I know, and... I dunno, anything you'd like."

Liam didn't understand how it could be possible for Harry's smile to grow any brighter, but there it was.

"You're the best," Harry said. 

Liam felt a familiar heat rising to his cheeks and not-so-coincidentally felt that it would be appropriate to change the subject. "What about you?" he asked. "What are you studying?"

"Human kinetics," Harry said. 

"Hmm," Liam said idly, taking another sip of coffee. "Wouldn't have been my first guess."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Not really sure if it's for me. I was considering going into physiotherapy, but I've been thinking about changing my major."

"To what?" Liam asked curiously.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno. I'm not really sure what I want to do. At least I'm only in first year, so I've got plenty of time to figure it out!" he added brightly.

Liam nodded, returning the smile. "That's true."

Harry cocked his head to the side. "What did you _think_ I studied?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't know what I thought," he said, "but I guess I would have assumed drama or something. You seem like such a natural performer."

Harry's eyes widened slightly at that. "Wow," he said, looking endearingly bashful. "That means a lot coming from someone like you."

This time, Liam was the one raising an eyebrow. "What d'you mean, someone like me?"

"I mean someone as talented as you are," Harry said. "A real performer."

Liam couldn't help but laugh. "A real performer?" he said. "I've never performed anything."

The speed at which Harry's smile faded was rather comical. "You're serious?"

Liam's turned his gaze downward, fidgeting slightly in his seat. "Y-yeah," he stammered. "I've never... I don't... um, yeah."

Harry seemed to be in awe. "No way," he said. "I would've thought you did this all the time. Be a waste not to, with that voice."

Liam shook his head, suddenly struggling to use the voice that Harry seemed to admire so much. "Nah," he said shyly. "Zayn's the real performer. He's been in all kinds of productions since he was a kid. He was always the lead in everything in high school. Been in all kinds of stuff at the uni, too."

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed. "I think I remember... was he in A Midsummer Night's Dream last year?"

"He was!" Liam said. "He played Oberon! Did you see it?"

"Yeah!" Harry beamed. "We went on a field trip to see it senior year. I was really impressed! Are all of the university productions that good?"

Though Harry seemed intimidating to Liam in many respects, he was remarkably easy to talk to. They chatted about some of their favourite shows (as it turned out that Harry was actually a pretty big fan of musicals), then talked about how the previous night's auditions had gone. Just thinking about the auditions made Liam nervous, so he was pondering ways to steer the conversation away from them when he happened to look up and catch sight of the clock.

"Oh _shit!_ " Liam said. "Is it really after two?"

Harry pulled out his phone to glance at the time. "Two-fifteen," he replied. "Have we really been talking for that long?"

"Guess so," Liam said, hurriedly recovering his bag and grabbing the coffee cup. "Sorry, Harry! I'm late for class! Hate to just take off like this..."

"No worries, mate!" Harry smiled. "Besides, if I did even half as well as you did at the auditions, I'll be seeing you next week!"

Liam's initial hesitance to leave was alleviated slightly by his immediate need to hide his deepening blush. "Don't know... about that," he mumbled, standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder, "but... thanks again for the coffee!"

"You're welcome," Harry grinned. "See you around, mate!"

With that, Liam headed off to his last class of the day, armed with a fresh medley of thoughts to keep him distracted.

********************************

When Liam finally made it home and up the stairs to his bedroom, all he wanted to do was collapse. Alas, he needed to get ready for work almost immediately. He had started bartending at a local pub toward the end of the summer and continued working there on weekends during the school year. As much as he liked his job, he was not looking forward to working tonight; he usually never worked Thursdays because he had early class on Friday mornings, but one of the other bartenders had a prior commitment and had been desperate for someone to take his shift.

Liam glanced around his disaster of a bedroom and sighed. He was set to move in with Zayn over the weekend but had yet to do any packing. At the very least, he felt it appropriate that the cluttered room mirrored his state of mind.

As he threw his bag down on the bed, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. The fact that it buzzed three times in rapid succession made him certain that he knew exactly whom the messages came from and what they were regarding.

Without bothering to look at his phone, Liam raced over to his computer and opened up his e-mail, finding precisely the message that he was expecting to see.

 **Greetings!** read the e-mail from the casting director. **We just want to thank you all again for coming out to the auditions. The decisions were incredibly difficult, but we are pleased to announce that the cast list has been finalized.**

Liam skimmed through the next part of the e-mail, which discussed some of the show's logistical details. None of that mattered right now. He kept scrolling down until he saw it.

_Claude Bukowski - Liam Payne_

There it was.

His pounding heart came to a stop when his eyes caught sight of the name written just above his own:

_George Berger - Harry Styles_

As far as Liam could remember, there were no other boys named Harry at the auditions, so the name could only belong to the dark-haired, dancing wonder that had captured Liam's attention so effortlessly.

Liam stared at the screen as he waited for the news to sink in. He and Harry were going to be co-stars. Claude and Berger. Partners in crime.

Before he could let himself get too fixated upon that idea, he scrolled down to see who else had been cast. His smile widened when he saw the pairing just below his name:

_Woof - Zayn Malik_

Liam was beyond excited but far from surprised. He was, however, rather pleasantly surprised by the next casting decision that caught his eye:

_Margaret Mead - Louis Tomlinson_

Louis' bizarre song choice had played out in the best way possible. Liam shook his head in disbelief, laughing as he imagined Louis dressed in drag. This was bound to be a riot. 

He skimmed through the rest of the list, gasping when he saw the names Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson in the list of tribe members. They had done it; all five of them had been cast. Liam could hardly contain his delight.

He briefly glanced back over the list again. John, Anthony, Emily, Derek, Ebony, Brandon, Adelaide, Corinne... among the other cast members, the only name that he recognized was that of Perrie Edwards, who had been cast as Sheila. Liam wasn't sure how Zayn would handle that news. What he did know was that he had about thirty seconds to get ready for work.

He yanked off his hoodie and grabbed his black work T-shirt, quickly slipping it over his head and grabbing his jacket from the back of his desk chair. He glanced around the room one last time to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, then hurried out the door and down to the bus stop with a smile too big for his face.

********************************

When Liam stepped into the pub, he was greeted with the sound of somebody belting out some bastardized version of _Don't Stop Believing_ into a screechy microphone. He had completely forgotten that the bar always hosted karaoke nights on Thursdays.

"Liam!" his manager greeted him from behind the bar. "Thank you so much for coming in. I know that you have class in the morning, so I won't keep you here until close. We'll try to get you out of here as soon as things slow down."

"Thank you," Liam shouted over the noise, joining him behind the bar. "I appreciate it. Are Thursday nights always this busy?"

The manager nodded, wiping the water spots off of the beer mug in his hand. "We normally get a pretty good crowd for karaoke. Shouldn't be too crazy, though."

"Liam!" somebody shouted suddenly from the other end of the bar.

Liam looked up and was surprised to see Harry and Niall seated on the far right side of the bar, sipping on a pair of Coronas.

"You work here?" Niall exclaimed as Liam headed over to greet them.

"Yeah," Liam said, "for just over two months now."

"How have I never seen you here before?" Harry asked incredulously. "We're always here for karaoke!"

"I never work Thursdays," Liam said. "I'm just covering for someone tonight."

"Ahh, that explains it," Niall said, taking a sip of his beer. "That's a shame. Why don't you ever come out for karaoke, though?"

"Never really thought about it," Liam said, wiping down the counter. "Maybe I'll start coming out every now and then."

"Do it!" Harry beamed. "We can always just come straight here after Thursday night rehearsals. OH, hell, speaking of which... CLAUDE! YOU DID IT!"

Liam blushed for what felt like the hundredth time. "YOU did it. We all did it... we all made it through!"

Niall beamed. "I think this show's going to be sick."

"Bound to be a good time," Harry said. "I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other after all!"

"Yeah..." Liam said, trying his best not to look like he was ready to burst with excitement. "I guess so."

Niall polished off the last of his beer and held up the empty bottle. "Could we get another round, Liam?"

Liam nodded, reaching into the cooler for another pair of Coronas. "It's on me, boys." 

"Oh, come on now, Liam," Harry protested, reaching for his wallet.

Liam shook his head, setting the beers down on the bar. "Thanks again for the coffee," he smiled.

Harry looked oddly surprised, but he smiled back, his eyes shining with just the tiniest bit of awe. Liam lowered his gaze shyly and pretended to busy himself with rearranging the glasses on the shelf, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught Harry slipping a five-pound note into his tip jar.

"Well, wouldja look who it is!" Niall exclaimed, looking upward toward the door.

Liam turned to find Louis and Zayn walking into the bar.

Zayn opened his arms wide. "CLAUDE!" he shouted.

"Zayn," Liam laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"You would know if you even bothered LOOKING at your texts, Liam," Zayn said, as he and Louis sat down next to Niall and Harry. "Lou and I ran into each other on campus after we got the e-mail and figured we needed to celebrate."

"He knew YOU'D be here at least," Louis added. "We weren't expecting to find these two princesses."

Niall barked out a laugh. "Says Miss Margaret Mead over here."

Louis grinned. "You'll never be as fabulous as I am," he said, "but you can try."

"What are you boys having?" Liam asked, grabbing a few beer glasses.

"Surprise us," said Zayn.

As the night went on, Liam began to wonder if the boys had forgotten about karaoke night completely. Harry, Niall, Louis, and Zayn spent a solid two hours just hanging out and chatting at the bar. Liam slipped over to join them whenever he wasn't busy pouring drinks. They talked about meeting the rest of the cast (Zayn apparently knew a few of them from his drama courses), about how much fun the rehearsals were going to be, about the prospect of seeing Louis in costume... After a few drinks, it became noticeably difficult for them to contain their enthusiasm over the audition results and the fact that they would all be performing together. 

Liam may not have been able to indulge while on the job, but he was buzzing just as much as the others. As if it wasn't exciting enough to have been cast in a production alongside his best friend, he was lucky enough to be able to surround himself with an amazing group of people.

When the number of people in the bar finally began to dwindle, Liam's manager approached him. "I can take it from here, Liam," he said. "Go ahead and clock out."

Liam flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much. I'm on for Saturday, right?"

"You got it," his manager replied. "See you then!"

Liam punched out and then stepped around to the other side of the bar to join the others for a bit.

"All done for the night, Liam?" asked Zayn.

"Yeah," Liam said. "I should be heading home soon."

"What? You're not even going to stay for a pint?" Niall asked.

"Nah, I don't think so," Liam said, "but I've been waiting all night for one of you to get up there and sing! I'd stick around for that."

"Why don't you get up there and show us how it's done?" Louis smirked.

Liam smiled but shook his head. "No, I couldn't. I'd be way too nervous."

Niall laughed. "Nervous? You just got cast as the lead role in a musical."

Liam blushed. "No one said I had to be ready for the stage _today_."

"So why not get practicing now?" Louis asked. "Baby steps."

Harry's eyes suddenly widened. "Liam!" he exclaimed. "Oh, Liam! We can practice! We should sing Hair!"

The proposition seemed to startle Liam. "What? I... no, no I couldn't, not here, not with..."

"It's perfect," Harry said. "What better way to celebrate?" He took Liam by the arm and pulled him up to the small raised stage, leaning over to inform the D.J. of their song choice.

"Harry, I've never..." Liam glanced nervously over his shoulder at the thinning crowd. "I've never sang in front of people before."

"You did! At the auditions," Harry said brightly, "and you nailed it!"

"That was different," Liam insisted. "They were all there for the same reason that I was, so they were all just as nervous, and... I don't..."He raked his fingers anxiously through his hair.

Harry handed him a microphone and smiled warmly. "You've got nothing to worry about," he said.

Looking up into Harry's sparkling eyes, Liam felt a calm wash over him. He had no idea why, but just the way that Harry said those words made him believe them.

Following the signal of the song's first chord, Liam turned slowly to face the crowd, raising the microphone.

"She asks me whyyyy..." he began, "...I'm just a hairy guy."

The remaining patrons in the bar quieted down and turned their attention to the stage. Liam felt his voice beginning to waver as his eyes glazed over their expectant faces.

"I'm hairy n-noon and night... hair... th-that's a fright..."

He felt Harry's hand come to rest gently at the small of his back and noticeably relaxed, closing his eyes and letting the song take over.

"I'm hairy high and _low,_ " he sang, thrusting his hips forward ever-so-subtly and smiling at the resultant snickering from the crowd. "Don't ask me why..."

"Don't knoooooowww..." Harry joined in, harmonizing effortlessly above Liam.

Liam was so taken aback by how good they sounded together that he nearly forgot the next line.

"It's not for lack of bread," he sang quickly, turning toward Harry, "like the Grateful Dead..."

"Darliiiiiiing," Harry harmonized, a devilish smile forming on his lips. The two boys turned to face the crowd as they broke into the first verse.

What struck Liam the most - besides the fact that his and Harry's voices fit together almost too perfectly - was how confident he felt at Harry's side. His lively spirit was so infectious. Liam felt himself melting into Harry's performance, feeding off of his energy.

When he was feeling brave enough, Liam glanced back out at the audience. Though he still very much felt that he had no idea what he was doing, whatever the two of them were doing seemed to be working; the crowd seemed rather intrigued by their little spectacle. Liam's confidence surged as their voices rose together into a powerful crescendo, bursting into the first chorus. 

"Flow it, show it, loonnngggg as God can grow it..." they sang as Harry clapped his hands, encouraging the audience to join in.

"I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty..." Liam sang, instinctively reaching over to ruffle Harry's curls. Harry grinned and ran his fingers through Liam's hair. It occurred to Liam that the exchange should have seemed forced and awkward, but it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

At this point, everyone in the crowd was chanting and cheering along with them, but Liam had completely forgotten that anyone else was there. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Harry, what with the way that he threw himself into the song's final chorus. He performed with such _passion,_ shaking his hair around and belting out the notes with fervour as he danced across the tiny stage. Liam hadn't even noticed that he was moving too, subconsciously mirroring and echoing Harry's motions. As they reached the final note of the song, Harry threw his arm around Liam and thrust his microphone triumphantly into the air.

The entire crowd was on its feet, but it was the series of cheers and whoops coming from the three boys still sitting at the bar that pulled Liam from his haze. Zayn was grinning like a Cheshire cat, applauding with his hands high in the air. Louis and Niall were pumping their fists, chanting Liam's and Harry's names (respectively).

Liam felt Harry's arm tighten around his shoulders.

"You did it, Liam!" Harry yelled over the applause. "You were brilliant! Perfect!"

Liam shook his head. "It was all you, mate. Thank you." Though he felt that some gesture of gratitude was warranted, he didn't know precisely what he was thanking Harry for in that moment.

Louis, Niall, and Zayn approached the stage just as Liam and Harry were stepping off of the platform. 

"That was unreal!" Zayn exclaimed, throwing his arm over Liam's shoulder. "You two have _amazing_ musical chemistry!"

"Casting director knew what he was doing. That's for sure!" Niall beamed.

Louis nodded in agreement. "I've got a good feeling about this show."

 _So do I, Louis,_ Liam thought. _So do I._


	3. Tell Me, What's It That Moves You?

"This is really all you have?" Zayn asked incredulously, glancing down at the suitcase, guitar, and two cardboard boxes sitting on the porch at Liam's feet.

Liam slipped the guitar strap over his shoulder and slung the guitar around his back. "I've got clothes, school stuff, video games... you've got all the furniture. What else do I need?"

Zayn shrugged, stacking the two boxes and lifting them up. "Could've gotten us a new microwave."

Liam laughed, picking up his suitcase and following Zayn down to the car. "You didn't tell me yours was broken."

"It's not," Zayn replied, "but getting me a new one would have been a nice gesture."

Liam grinned as he loaded his things into Zayn's truck. He was rather excited about the prospect of moving in with Zayn now that he could afford the rent. Not only was he thrilled about finally leaving home and having his best friend as a roommate, but Zayn lived within walking distance of the school, the bar, and the rehearsal hall, so it all just made sense. 

"We can start a fund for new appliances," Liam said, climbing into the passenger's seat. "Get a piggy bank, if you like."

"Better yet," Zayn said brightly, "why don't we have a housewarming party and get our friends to buy us new things?"

"No one's going to fall for that," Liam said with a laugh. "You've already been living there two years."

"Housewarming 2.0," Zayn said, starting up the car. "Featuring Liam Payne."

Liam couldn't help but smile. "Enthusiasm noted."

Zayn smiled back. "Gonna be sick, bro."

As they made their way to Zayn's house, Liam found himself staring absentmindedly out the window, unusually intrigued by the fall foliage. He couldn't help but reflect upon the incredible number of changes that the season was bringing to him. He sat nervous and excited at the prospect of facing it all and couldn't wait to see what would come next.

************************************************

Work was surprisingly slow that evening. Liam suspected that most members of the usual university crowd were too caught up with midterm exams to go out for drinks, but he had no idea where everyone else was. All he knew was that it was going to be a long night.

Having nothing else to do, he had busied himself with the exciting task of polishing the wine glasses. He was so enthralled that he failed to notice the arrival of a new customer until he heard the sound of the barstool legs scraping across the tile floor and looked up to find Harry smiling at him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. "I thought you only came here on Thursdays!"

"That was before I knew you worked here on weekends," Harry said, taking a seat.

Liam flipped a coaster onto the bar in front of Harry. "What'll it be?"

Harry eyed the row of beer taps. "I'll have a pint of... the... ahh, just surprise me. I trust you."

Liam suspected that Harry wasn't much of a beer drinker, so he poured him a classic pale ale that wasn't likely to be too threatening. "Is Niall joining you?" he asked, setting it down on the coaster.

"Thanks," Harry smiled, lifting the glass. "And no, he's not. He's studying for some test."

Liam nodded. "Yeah, we've got a music theory midterm on Monday."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Speaking of music theory," he said. "I wanted to ask you about something."

"Yeah?" Liam said, slightly amused.

"Yeah," Harry said shyly. "Umm... before, when I asked you if you would give me music lessons, you said yes, but I don't know how serious you were being, and... if I'm honest, I'm really nervous about tomorrow. The e-mail said that we'd be getting all of the music and stuff during the first meeting, and I don't even read sheet music, Liam! They're going to sack me!" 

Liam didn't mean to laugh, but Harry's expression, wide-eyed and filled with genuine concern, was just too adorable.

"No, they're not," Liam said. "Never in a million years would they find someone good enough to replace you."

Liam could have sworn he caught sight of Harry's cheeks turning pink and chose to believe that it was no coincidence that Harry chose that moment to duck his head and take a sip of his beer.

"Mmm... not bad!" he said, nodding in approval as he set the drink back down. "And I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm still not sure about this... it's going to be really obvious if I can't follow along with the music, isn't it?"

"But don't you already know the songs?" Liam said. "You don't really need the music. It's mostly just helpful for keeping track of where we are when we're rehearsing the songs. That way, the director can say, 'let's start at measure fifty-six' and have everyone know exactly where to begin."

Harry's face brightened. "Is that really all it's for? Do you think I can fake it?"

Liam laughed. "I know you can. But if you're worried, I'm obviously still happy to help you."

Harry beamed. "I would really, really like that. Even if you can just show me the basics... that'd be amazing."

"Of course," Liam replied. "We can always stick around after rehearsals, or even meet up around the school if we have any breaks that line up."

"That'd be perfect!" Harry said. "Can we work something out next week?"

"Yeah, for sure!" Liam replied. 

Liam was taken aback by Harry's enthusiasm, but he was no longer surprised by his own. He couldn't help but take a liking to Harry; Harry just made it so easy.

As Harry nursed his beer, he continued to ask Liam about what he should expect from their first rehearsal. Like Harry, Liam had never been in a show before, but he told Harry what he knew from Zayn; he suspected that they would begin by reading through the script and then possibly working on the opening musical number. He mentioned that he didn't know whether or not they would be rehearsing the scenes or songs in order, which inevitably steered them into a discussion about their favourite musical numbers from the show (Liam adored Electric Blues, whereas Harry was still a major fan of the title track). 

A few more customers trickled in as the night went on, but Liam continued to gravitate back to Harry immediately after tending to each of them. The two of them were in the middle of laughing over their memories of the callback auditions when Liam's manager approached.

"All set, Liam," he said. "You can head out. I'll close up."

Liam blinked, then looked incredulously at the clock. It was after midnight. 

"Wow, sorry!" he said. "Didn't even realize it was that late." It appeared as though it was far too easy to lose track of time when talking to Harry.

Harry seemed to have noticed the pattern as well. "Might need to get you a watch," he murmured, tilting his wrist upward toward Liam. "Want mine? That should cover my tab," he said with a grin.

"Nice try," Liam smiled, though he still waved Harry off when he tried to pay and swatted at his hand when he aimed the money at the tip jar. 

Liam cashed out and gathered his things as Harry hurriedly polished off the rest of his beer. Harry straightened up to leave when he noticed that Liam was ready as well.

"How are you getting home?" Harry asked. "Do you drive?"

Liam shook his head. "No, I'm just walking. Zayn and I live just down there, over on Arthur Street."

"I'm just a few blocks past!" Harry said brightly. "I'll walk you home!"

Liam was not about to object.

"So do you think we'd be able to meet up on campus, then?" Harry asked. "Where would we practice?"

"In the music building, there's a practice room that nobody ever uses with a piano in it," Liam replied. "Be perfect for that sort of thing."

"You play piano?" Harry asked, his face lighting up once again.

"Well, yeah, a bit," Liam said modestly. "Not, like, amazingly or whatever, just... point is that it'd be really helpful to have a piano for any kind of music lesson."

Harry grinned broadly, shaking his head from side to side in disbelief. "I should have guessed that you're talented at everything."

Liam groaned, rolling his eyes over the excessive praise, but smiled nonetheless. "You're one to talk," he said. "Claim you know nothing about music, then absolutely destroy the harmonies of a Broadway tune in the middle of a karaoke bar, of all places."

Harry laughed it off with a shrug. "Like I said, I just get lucky sometimes," he said. "I'm relying on you to make me competent enough to survive these rehearsals. No pressure or anything."

Liam smiled again, though it seemed as though he had yet to stop smiling. "We'll call it even if you let me borrow some of your confidence," he said. "Otherwise, I'll never be able to get on that stage."

"I'm not going up there without you," Harry said. "We're in this together, whether you like it or not."

"Funny," Liam smirked. "I don't remember agreeing to that."

"Either way," Harry said, "I won't make you regret it."

"I appreciate that," Liam said jokingly. "And I'm right here," he said, stopping and pointing up toward Zayn's house.

"All right," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Liam. "Thanks for everything, Liam."

Liam blinked stupidly for a moment before lifting his arm and patting gently at Harry's back. "Umm... no problem... anytime."

Harry gave Liam one final squeeze before pulling away with a smile. "Good night, Liam."

"Night, Harry," Liam said softly, blinking as Harry turned on his heel and headed off down the sidewalk. He tore his gaze away from the solitary figure as it disappeared into the shadows beyond the streetlights. 

As he jogged up the steps to the house, he realized that he had forgotten his key and was relieved to find that Zayn had left the door unlocked. He stepped inside and found Zayn playing a video game in the living room.

"Hey," Zayn said, giving Liam a quick nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the game. Almost immediately, however, he turned back toward Liam, looking oddly intrigued. "What are you so happy about?" he asked with a smile.

Liam hadn't realized that he still had a gigantic smile plastered on his face. "Nothing," he said hurriedly. "Just a good day."

"Work was acceptable, then?" Zayn asked, shutting off the Playstation.

"Yeah, was good," Liam said dismissively. "How come you're still up? We've got rehearsal tomorrow!"

"It's at like one o'clock, innit?" Zayn shrugged. "Plenty of time to sleep in. I am going to turn in now though, I think."

"Me too," Liam said, turning to head down the hall to his room. "Night, Zayn."

"Night, Liam!"

Truthfully, Liam wasn't entirely sure how to answer Zayn's question. He couldn't figure out what it was about spending time with Harry that made him so happy. His personality was incredibly warm and infectious, and he was incredibly easy to get along with, but it was more than that. There was just something about that boy that made him feel...

 _No_ , Liam thought, shaking his head as he undressed and climbed into bed. This was not one of those situations that he needed to analyze to death. Harry was a nice guy who was fun to be around. It wasn't more complicated than that.

***************************************

Liam's heart was aflutter as he darted around his room, making sure he had everything he needed for the first rehearsal.

"Zayn," he called, "do you have an extra binder?"

"I don't think so," Zayn hollered back. "Sorry, mate!"

Liam pawed through his box of school books. They were supposed to bring binders with them to the first rehearsal, since they were going to be given all of the scripts and sheet music, but Liam didn't have any empty ones.

His eyes fell upon the binder that he used for his history course in first year.

"Perfect," he said, grabbing the binder and flipping it open, glancing briefly at the now obsolete notes.

"That's ancient history," he muttered, smiling at his own joke as he removed the pages from the binder and tossed them into the wastebasket.

"You coming?" Zayn shouted.

"Yeah, be right there!" Liam shouted back, grabbing his jacket and slipping the freshly emptied binder under his arm before hurrying down the hall to join Zayn.

"All set?" Zayn asked. "Let's go."

The rehearsal hall was close enough that they could walk, but they had decided to take Zayn's car anyway to ensure that they'd arrive early. Liam didn't particularly want to risk making a bad impression on the first day.

The unusually silent car ride was disrupted by a light chuckle from Zayn. "You're nervous again. It's adorable."

"Shut up..." Liam muttered, making himself as small as possible in his seat.

"You know you already have the part, right?" Zayn asked teasingly. "What do you have to be anxious about?"

Liam didn't answer right away. He didn't expect Zayn to understand, but there was so much about this experience that felt completely new and foreign to him, and he wasn't even sure if he could explain why.

"Just don't want to screw anything up," Liam said quietly.

"You won't, Liam," Zayn said. "It will be amazing. You'll be amazing. You'll love it. Just wait and see how much fun you're going to have."

Liam hoped Zayn was right.

They arrived at the rehearsal hall with fifteen minutes to spare. They went inside and headed into the same room where the callback auditions had been held and found a much larger circle of chairs waiting for them. Only a few of the other cast members had arrived, and Perrie Edwards was one of them.

"Hi, Zayn," she said brightly.

Zayn smiled timidly. "Hey, Perrie," he said. "Hi, Leigh-Anne!"

The two girls smiled warmly before turning back to the conversation to the conversation they had been having before.

Liam nudged Zayn as they walked away. "I thought you said she didn't know you existed," he said in a low voice.

"Shut up," Zayn growled. "She has a boyfriend."

They took a seat at another end of the circle, smiling at a pair of girls who were sitting a few seats away. They smiled back but immediately went back to whispering to each other.

"Do you know anyone else in the cast?" Liam asked Zayn.

"Yeah, a few of the tribe members are in my drama classes," Zayn replied. "And my friend Ebony is playing Dionne. She's amazing. Wait until you hear her voice."

Harry and Niall arrived shortly after and made a beeline for Liam and Zayn. Liam happened to glance over at the pair of girls sitting near them and noticed that the blonde girl was no longer engrossed in conversation with her friend. He followed her gaze upward and snickered when he noticed that Niall appeared to be the one distracting her. He made a mental note to give Niall a heads up later on.

"Hey," Harry said cheerily, sitting next to Liam.

"Fancy seeing you lads here," Zayn said, smiling at the new arrivals.

Louis came sauntering in momentarily and plopped down in the seat separating Niall from the pair of girls. "All right, lads!" he said jauntily.

"Nice of you to join us, Tommo!" Zayn said cheekily.

"It is, isn't it?" Louis mused. He turned to the petite brunette sitting next to him and smiled. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met!"

She turned to face Louis, raising an eyebrow. "Believe me," she quipped, "you have no reason to apologize for that."

Louis looked surprisingly startled. "Well, then!" he said. "Guess I'll have to come back with a better pick-up line next time!"

The girl turned back to her friend. "Emily, we're sitting somewhere else next time."

The blonde girl's gaze drifted once again from her friend's face to Niall's, but she turned away quickly, blushing slightly. Liam looked toward Niall and caught sight of a smile spreading across his face. He just may have noticed that one.

"Okay, everyone!" the director, Chris, called out from one end of the room. "I'd like to get started as soon as everyone's settled."

The room quieted down as the last few cast members trickled in. Zayn smiled and waved at the dark-skinned girl who had just slipped in. She grinned and waved back before stealing one of the empty seats near the doorway.

"There she is," Zayn said happily.

Chris stepped forward into the circle with a roll of masking tape in his hands. "We've got some important business to take care of," he said, tearing off a piece of tape and curling it into a tiny loop, sticking it to the end of Ebony's nose. She appeared somewhat baffled but didn't question it. He continued around the circle until he had placed a little tape loop upon the nose of every cast member.

"Now," he said, "I want each of you to stand up and find somebody that you don't know, then introduce yourself."

The five boys stood up and spread out in different directions, in search of a few strangers. Liam wound up face-to-face with the girl who had snubbed Louis a few moments prior. 

"I'm Liam," he said, extending his hand.

"Addison," she said, shaking his hand firmly and smiling. 

"Now," the director said, "your mission is to try to steal your opponent's piece of tape by transferring it from their nose to yours, but you must keep your hands clasped behind your back at all times. Once your duel is over, you shall both seek new opponents and attempt the same task. No one should be facing the same opponent twice. The battle will continue for sixty seconds, and the soldier who has acquired the most pieces of tape at the end of the allotted time will emerge victorious."

Addison turned back toward Liam, a steely glint in her eye.

"The time starts in three... two... one... _joust!"_ Chris exclaimed.

Liam and Addison pressed their noses together, and as they separated, Addison took Liam's tape with her.

"HAH!" she exclaimed gleefully, immediately whipping around and seeking her next opponent. 

Liam turned around to find himself face-to-face with Harry and immediately laughed at the sight of him grinning broadly with two loops of tape stuck to the end of his nose. 

"Come on, Liam," he said with a gleam in his eye. "I dare you."

Harry's approach proved to be far less aggressive than that of Liam's previous opponent, but its effect on Liam was far greater. Harry leaned in slowly, pressing his nose against Liam's ever so gently. Liam suppressed a shiver as Harry's breath ghosted against his lips and drew back quickly, each boy escaping with a loop of tape. 

"Damn," Harry laughed. "Well played, Mr. Payne."

The activity proved to be far more entertaining than Liam would have expected. Predictably, there was a great deal of giggling in a room full of strangers awkwardly pressing their faces together. (Liam couldn't help but notice that the interaction between Niall and Emily was heavy on the blushing.) There were also a few near accidents as a handful of the participants became a tad too competitive. By the time Chris called out, "Time!" to signal the end of the activity, the entire room had erupted in boisterous laughter. Everyone cheered and applauded for Zayn and Ebony, who had apparently tied for first place with five pieces of tape each. 

"Thank you for that, everyone," the Chris said with a smile. "If I could have you all back in the circle, now..."

The remaining bits of tape were tossed into the wastebasket as the cast members returned to their seats.

"I thank all of you for your enthusiasm," the director said, stepping into the middle of the circle. "Ice breakers are fun, but I'm sure some of you are wondering why exactly I would bother having you do such an exercise."

The residual laughter in the room quieted down as everyone turned toward him, listening intently.

"I think it's very important for all of you to get to know each other," he said. "We need to be very cohesive as a group because... well, for one thing, we need to work as a team to put together a successful show. It's also extremely important because of the nature of the show itself. The characters consist of a group of hippies that live as one big dysfunctional family, the dynamics of which are extremely relaxed and affectionate. That closeness really needs to be genuine; in order for the audience to feel it, you need to live it."

The cast members nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Not only that," he continued, "but the choreography is very tactile because it reflects the free-spirited nature of the sixties era. I mean, that's the essence of the show: peace, flowers, freedom, happiness... We can't have anybody feeling stiff or uncomfortable and looking completely out of place. No robots allowed."

A few of the listeners couldn't help but titter at that.

"Now," he said, "I know that parts of this experience may feel a bit foreign to you, especially if you're not a very 'touchy' person. The goal here is not to make anybody feel uncomfortable. Believe me, I could find far more efficient ways of doing that."

That drew a laugh from all of the cast members.

"I want you all to keep the context of the story in mind," Chris said. "This is a musical about breaking barriers and pushing boundaries. It was written in a time where people were exploring the art of self-expression. In order to fully commit to this experience, you may need to step out of your comfort zone. If this is the case for you, I encourage you to challenge yourself and to embrace it for what it is: art. It just so happens that this art is also laden with powerful messages."

The expectant listeners nodded solemnly.

"On that note," he said, "and also in the spirit of everyone getting to know one another, I want to remind you all that this is a safe space. This is something that I always stress to the people involved in our productions, but I know I'm preaching to the choir here. This show is largely about combating different types of social and sexual stigma. I know that none of you signed up for the show without knowing what it's about, so chances are that I'm talking to the least judgmental group of people on the planet."

"Cheers!" Louis exclaimed.

The others, Chris included, laughed heartily in response, but he continued in a sincere tone. "Just please keep in mind that we are all here to love and accept one another, and... yes, you can tell me that I'm speaking in clichés if you want, but the fact remains that it's crucial for us to nurture an atmosphere of love and mutual respect. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the others responded in unison.

"Perfect," Chris said brightly. "Now, I think I've gone on for long enough. We still have some housekeeping details to go over, and we are going to give you all of the scripts and sheet music later on, but we're going to spend the remainder of this 'rehearsal' getting to know each other a bit more. For starters, I think we'll just keep it simple by going around having all of you tell us your names and sharing a little about yourselves."

Liam listened as his castmates introduced themselves, glancing around the room at the amiable strangers who surrounded him and his four unlikely friends. He had never been part of a community such as this one before. He felt simultaneously completely at home and strangely out-of-place. He didn't know it was possible to feel so excited yet so terrified at the same time. Nonetheless, he straightened in his chair and prepared to welcome those who would be joining him on his newest journey, with all of its delicious uncertainty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to a few people who know exactly who they are.


	4. Harmony and Understanding

Liam leaned back in his desk chair, lazily plotting a set of harmonies onto a sheet of staff paper. Part of him wasn't sure why he was even bothering to study; he knew this stuff inside and out. Nonetheless, creating the illusion of productivity seemed like a good morale booster.

Sensing a vibration in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the display. The sight of the unfamiliar number appearing above the message brought a smile to his face, as he already knew exactly who it was. 

**Hey, mate, it's Harry. Where do you want to meet up tomorrow?**

At the end of their first rehearsal earlier that day, Liam had stifled a laugh as he watched Harry take one glance at the sheet music and look up at Liam with wide eyes. 

_Help,_ he had mouthed silently.

Liam had grinned broadly and flashed Harry a thumbs up before turning back to listen to Chris as he finished his closing remarks. 

As soon as the cast had been dismissed, Harry hurried over to Liam. "You've got to help me," he pleaded. "I don't know what any of this means."

Liam smiled. He knew on some level that it was probably wrong to find stressed-out Harry so endearing, but there was very little that he could do about it. "Don't panic," he said reassuringly. "I'm happy to help, of course, but you'll be fine either way."

Harry pulled out his phone and quickly tapped something out on the screen, then turned it to face Liam. "Mind if I get your number?" Harry asked hopefully. "A lifeline?"

Liam happily entered his number into the blank contact field. "I've got free time after music theory tomorrow," he said. "Around noon. We can go over it then if you want?"

"That'd be perfect," Harry smiled. "I'll text you tonight."

In anticipation of Harry's text, Liam had only been checking his phone once every thirty seconds or so.

Dropping his pencil onto the desk, Liam texted back: **Do u know where the music building is?**

**Think so** , Harry responded. **Across from the engineering building, isn't it?** '' 

**Thats the one,** Liam typed. **Want to meet me out front after class?**

Hearing a knock on his bedroom door, Liam looked over his shoulder in the direction of the sound. "Come in," he yawned, letting the phone fall carelessly to the desk as he stretched his arms above his head. 

Zayn peeked around the door with a mischievous glimmer in his eye. "Hey," he said with a smirk, "did you look at the script yet?"

Liam leaned back in the spinning desk chair, turning to face Zayn. "No, I was too busy pretending to study," he replied. "Why?"

Zayn's smile widened as he swung the door open. "I completely forgot about this scene," he said, turning the binder he was holding to face Liam. Liam peered at the lines that Zayn was pointing to and had to laugh. He had also forgotten about the scene that resulted in Berger, Sheila, Claude, Woof, and Hud lying in some sort of polyamorous love heap at the front of the stage. 

"That's going to be a sight," Liam smiled, briefly skimming through the other lines in the scene. His eyes fell upon a stage direction at the top of the page.

**[CLAUDE and BERGER get SHEILA in an embrace and bring HER down to the floor, ending up kissing each other with SHEILA apart from them]**

Zayn tilted his head to the side, caught off-guard by Liam's sudden change in demeanor. "What's on your mind?"

Liam touched the page underneath the direction and looked up at Zayn. "I have to kiss Harry?"

"Looks that way," Zayn said cheerfully. "Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't bite."

Liam looked back at the page, his brow furrowing. "Is it like..." he paused. "Is it an actual kiss, though? Or is it just kind of... like, pantomimed, but then they just make it look real to the audience?"

Zayn snorted. "Theatre isn't like the movies, Liam. They can't exactly fake anything with camera angles."

Liam nodded slowly. "Right, right," he murmured.

Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, 'course," Liam said quickly. "Just... wasn't expecting that."

Zayn smiled. "It's really not a big deal, though," he said. "It's a bit awkward at first, but then it's nothing. I've done plenty of stage kisses."

"Yeah, with girls," Liam muttered.

Zayn shrugged. "Yeah, well," he said, "pretty sure you get to kiss Perrie too, if that's any consolation."

The twinge of jealously in Zayn's voice was hard to miss.

"Splendid," Liam said dryly. 

Zayn mussed up Liam's hair. "You're going to love this show," he said, stealing out of Liam's room. "It's gonna be good times, maaaaaaaan," he sang to the tune of I Got Life.

Liam rolled his eyes and pretended to turn his attention to his study notes once again. He was going to have to kiss Harry. As Zayn had pointed out, it really wasn't that big of a deal, yet it seemed surprisingly daunting. He had seen the musical before, so he certainly wasn't unfamiliar with the content. It just hadn't occurred to him until this point that he would eventually wind up in an intimate embrace with a male cast member. 

He had never kissed another guy before. Come to think of it, he hadn't kissed anyone since he and his high school girlfriend had broken up the previous year. Perhaps that was why the prospect of kissing Harry in front of an audience was so intimidating. Then again, perhaps he wouldn't have to; directors make changes to scripts all the time. It was quite possible that Chris would want to adapt their script from the Broadway version and omit details like that one. At any rate, Liam decided that it wasn't worth worrying about the kiss unless he had to. He was also quickly coming to the conclusion that sleeping would be far more productive than studying, so he closed his books and got himself ready for bed. 

Once he was undressed and ready to get settled, he retrieved his phone from the desk and was about to plug it in near his nightstand when he realized that he hadn't noticed the latest text from Harry: 

**Perfect! Can't wait. See you then!**

It must have been pure coincidence that he drifted off to sleep with a smile upon his face.

*****************************************

After breezing through, his music theory test, Liam gave Niall a quick wave from across the classroom as he hurried out the door and down the stairs. Though class had just ended, part of him was worried that Harry would leave if he was left waiting outside for too long.

When Liam did make it down the stairwell and through the exit doors, he was relieved to find Harry standing in front of the building, absentmindedly checking his phone. He looked up when he heard the sound of the door opening and smiled at Liam. 

"Hey," he said brightly. "Thanks for meeting me out here. I've never been in this building before."

"Yeah, it's a bit of a maze in there," Liam said. "Didn't want you getting lost."

"Show me the way, then," Harry said with a grin, gesturing toward the inside.

Liam smiled as he held the door open for Harry. "The practice room's just upstairs," he said. "Follow me."

Liam led Harry up the stairs and down the hall to a small room that contained scarcely more than a piano, a few chairs, a blackboard, and several broken music stands. 

"What is this room for?" Harry asked.

"There are a couple of practice rooms scattered about the building," Liam said. "They're sort of like the quiet study rooms in the residence halls, except they're for music. Keeps music majors from playing their instruments in the dorm rooms."

"That's a good idea," Harry said.

"Yeah," Liam said, sitting down at the piano. "I think this one's a bit less popular because the piano's a bit old, but it's mostly in tune, so that's good enough for me."

"I can't wait to hear you play," Harry said with a smile, sitting down on the bench next to Liam.

Liam ducked his head. "I'm not a piano player," he said shyly. "But I can play chords and stuff. It will make it a bit easier to practice the songs for the show."

"Right," Harry said, reaching into his messenger bag and pulling out a red binder. "I brought my music so that I can make notes on it and stuff. Are we allowed to do that?"

Liam nodded. "Zayn said that they encourage it," he replied. "They'll probably be giving us a lot of things to write down on the sheet music during rehearsals."

Harry smiled sadly. "I'll probably be able to write a novel with all of the notes they'll give me."

"Oh, hush," Liam said. "You are going to be just fine. You don't even need my help. That said, we're here now, so... where would you like to start?"

Harry flipped open the binder and turned a few of the pages, frowning slightly. "I don't really know, to be honest," he said. "We don't have all that much time. I don't expect that you'll be able to show me everything there is to know about music in a matter of days or weeks."

"I don't think there's really any point in stressing about learning how to read the music fluently," Liam said. "Like I mentioned before, it's really just more important that you be able to follow along. Though you should know some of the basic symbols and directions, like these," he added, pointing to a few of the dynamic markings.

"Yeah, I know what most of those are," Harry said. "I played clarinet for a week or two in elementary school. The Pac Man-looking symbol means you get louder... a crescendo. And if it's facing the other way, it's an... uncrescendo?"

"Diminuendo," Liam said with a smile. "Close enough."

"Don't tell me you're fluent in Latin, too," Harry said, looking bewildered.

Liam smiled and shook his head. "Nope. Just the musical terms."

Harry smiled and shrugged. "Sounds sexy either way," he said.

Liam laughed. "Well, maybe that will get me somewhere in life." Forcing himself to tear his eyes away from Harry's stupidly bright smile, he began leafing through the sheet music. "Let's see..." he muttered. "Where _should_ we start?"

"Can you refresh me on the notes?" Harry said. "It's been a while."

"Sure," Liam said. "There are a bunch of... what d'you call them... mnemonic devices that people like to use to help them remember which notes go on which lines and such." Pointing to the space between the lower two staff lines, Liam said, "For example, the notes that fit in each of these spaces are F, A, C, and E. If you go from the bottom upward, that spells 'face'."

"Face in the spaces," Harry said. "I can remember that."

"Good," Liam smiled. "Now, as for the lines, it goes E, G, B, D, F. One of the more common acronyms is 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.'"

Harry made a face. "I'm sure we could do better than that," he said. "What about..."

"Even George Berger Dances Fabulously?" Liam suggested.

Harry beams. "Now THAT one, I'll remember."

"Grand," Liam said. "Knowing the notes on the paper will just make it a little easier to talk about the music and figure things out, but for the most part, you're really just going to be memorizing the way it sounds."

"Fair enough," Harry said. "Honestly, anything that you can teach me will help."

Liam flipped through the sheet music. "Like I said, the dynamic markings are really important," he said, stopping when he reached the song Initials. "See there, those dots above the notes, those are staccato notes. That means you need to make the notes really short, light, and detached."

"Makes sense," Harry said. "That's how I remember that song sounding."

Liam nodded. "And if you hear the director say 'legato,' that's the opposite; the notes should be long, smooth, and connected."

"Staccato, short. Legato, long," Harry said confidently. "Got it. What else?"

Liam flipped through the music again. "Accents," he said. "The tiny Pac-Man symbols above and below the notes mean that those notes need more emphasis or volume. You can kind of think of it as a mini diminuendo; you emphasize the note at the beginning and then quickly taper off. If you see one that looks like an upside-down V, that's even more dynamic. You really want to punch those ones."

Harry nodded. "Awesome. This is great."

Liam bit back a smile, trying to look studious and professional as he flipped through the music again. "I'm wondering what else I should tell you right off the bat."

Harry pointed to the first set of staff lines for Don't Put It Down. "Can you maybe... can you just go over the rhythms? I know I learned all of this once upon a time... I feel like I vaguely remember what's a quarter note and what's an eighth note, but I don't know if I could figure out how to sing a rhythm just by looking at it."

"Sure," Liam said. "Let's spend some time on that."

Liam gave Harry a brief explanation about time signatures, reminding him that the time signatures differed between songs. He then went on to explain how many beats each type of note had in common time and showed Harry how he could "say" a rhythm to himself in order to determine how the phrase should be sung. As tempted as he was to remind Harry that he was better off learning the rhythms from memory for the purpose of the musical, he would never want to deter anyone from educating themselves about music. It was extremely heartening to see someone so eager to learn. Harry listened intently to everything that Liam said and seemed to be catching on very quickly.

"You know," Liam said, "you are doing nothing to disprove my theory that you're a natural at this."

Harry rolled his eyes but smiled. "I'm sure I'll prove you wrong at rehearsal tonight," he said, glancing up at the clock. "Shit... I should probably get going. I've got class in a bit, and the HK building is on the other side of campus."

"No worries," Liam said. "If you're still convinced that you need lessons, we can meet up later this week."

"I'm convinced," Harry said quickly, gathering up his things. "Do you think that next time, maybe we could work a bit on vocals?"

"Yeah, sure," Liam said. "Whatever you'd like."

Harry beamed and threw his arms around Liam. "You really are the best," he said. "I don't know how to repay you for this."

Liam returned the embrace, wondering how it was possible for a human being to smell so good. "It's no trouble at all," he said. "Really."

"Whatever you say," Harry said with a smile as he pulled back. "But whenever you think of something, just let me know." He slung his bag back over his shoulder. "See you at rehearsal tonight, yeah?"

"Right," Liam said. "See you, Harry!"

As he watched Harry slip out the door, it dawned on Liam just how much he would be seeing of the lad in the weeks to follow. At the same time, he struggled to figure out what was bringing on the sudden sense of apprehension. 

Choosing to shake it off, he turned his attention back to the piano and pounded out a quick rendition of Electric Blues to calm his nerves before gathering his things and heading off to his next class.

*************************************

"Look who's here already," Zayn said with a grin.

Liam and Zayn had headed to rehearsal rather early and assumed that they would be the first ones there, but they walked in to find Louis sitting in his usual place at the other end of the circle of chairs. On his head sat a comically large wig with grey, curly hair.

"That's a nice look for you, Lou," Liam said as he and Zayn sat down on Louis' left.

"It's Margaret," Louis said haughtily.

"This isn't dress rehearsal," Zayn scolded, thwacking the wig off of Louis' head with a smile. "Where did you even _get_ that thing?"

Louis chuckled as he retrieved the hideous hairpiece from the floor. "Found it in the attic," he said. "I think me sister used it for a Hallowe'en costume a long time ago."

"Can't imagine how it ended up in the attic," Zayn muttered. "What a tragedy."

Louis returned to wig to his head and straightened it matter-of-factly. "It's called method acting, Zayn. Shows dedication to the role. You should try it sometime."

Zayn plucked a wad of dust from between the tangled strands. "I think I'll pass," he said.

The three boys took out their scripts and sheet music and chatted about the first few musical numbers as the other cast members began to trickle in. At one point, Liam looked up to see Emily and Addison walking in and was mildly surprised to see them sit down exactly where they had sat previously, on Louis' right side.

Louis hastily snatched the wig off of his head and cleared his throat as he attempted to fix his hair. "Did it hurt?" he asked innocently, turning in his chair to face Addison.

The brunette raised an eyebrow in response.

"...when you fell from Heaven?" he continued with a smile.

"Oh my God," Zayn muttered under his breath, burying his face in his hands as Liam snickered beside him.

Beyond unimpressed, she blinked back at him. "Talk to me again," she said calmly, "and I'll show you just how much it hurt."

Louis mulled over her words for a moment. "I see," he said, putting the wig back on once again. "If you need me, I'll be in character." Turning back toward Zayn and Liam, he whispered, "She's feisty! I like her."

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam caught sight of Addison giving Emily a not-so-subtle nudge and nodding toward the entrance. Liam looked up in time to see Harry and Niall walking in the door. He only let his gaze linger on Harry for a moment before turning his attention back to the two girls.

"Shut up, Addie," the blonde girl hissed, her cheeks lighting up. "I do not."

Liam filled in the blanks of the conversation on his own and tried not to smile too hard when he saw Niall's gaze flickering in Emily's direction.

"All right, Liam," Harry said as he claimed the seat on Liam's left. "It all comes down to this."

"What does?" Liam asked, genuinely confused.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly, "but it's the first rehearsal, and I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I'd be."

"If it's any consolation to you," Louis said, "you don't look nearly as nervous as Niall does."

Niall, realizing that he was biting his nails, hastily lowered his hand and tried to calm his bouncing knees. "You're not helpful, Louis."

"You'll both be fine," Zayn said. "We're just taking it slow at first. You'll see."

As if on cue, Chris stood up and asked for everybody's attention. "All right, everyone," he began. "If we can all get settled, we're going to get started very soon. First, I just want to explain how the next few rehearsals are going to work."

The cast quieted down and listened intently.

"We're going to start by just doing a full read-through of the script. That way, you can all get an idea of how the show progresses and what to expect. Today, I anticipate that we won't get further than the end of Act I. I'd like to go through it with as few interruptions as possible, though I may interject every now and then if I need to tell you anything important. You can just deliver your lines sitting where you are, though I'd like you to stand up any time you are singing. We'll workshop the actual songs later, and we'll start to add the choreography once the numbers have been well rehearsed. Also, don't worry about doing any of the physical stage directions today; for the time being, I'll just read those out loud."

The last sentence brought Liam more relief than he could describe.

"Let's begin with a bit of a warm-up," he said.

Mark, the musical director, sat down at the piano and led them all through a series of vocal warm ups. Liam glanced to his sides now and then and noticed that both Harry and Louis seemed to be fighting back laughter. He couldn't blame them; vocal warm-up exercises can sound very funny to people who aren't used to doing them. They started out with simple arpeggios that grew increasingly higher in pitch, but Liam suspected that Harry and Louis weren't the only ones that had to stifle genuine laughter when there were asked to sing a series of runs consisting mainly of "hee hee hee" and "hah hah hah" sounds.

Once everyone was sufficiently warmed up, Mark asked everyone to turn to Aquarius.

"All right," he said, playing the first few chords. "You may remember that this song starts off with a long intro. The music will start to play, and the tribe members will slowly make their way onto the stage a few at a time. The sounds and the movements help to create the mystical atmosphere that the show is known for. Maybe that's a little hard to picture without the choreography, but... it'll look great. I promise."

The cast members laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Now," he said as he continued to play through the song, "there'll be some horns in here, some nice percussion... then about a minute in, the horns will lead into the opening verse, where Dionne will start us off." He gestured toward Ebony with a smile.

Returning the smile, she stood up and waited for the cue from the director before beginning to sing:

_"When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars..."_

Liam couldn't help but smile as he listened to her. Zayn was right; she had an incredible voice, and she performed with confidence. On an impulse, Liam turned toward Zayn only to find him staring up at her, slack-jawed. The amount of awe in his expression almost made Liam laugh out loud, so he quickly turned his attention back to the sheet music to wait for his cue.

As Ebony led them into the first chorus, the rest of the cast joined in, following along as best as they could with the help of the sheet music. Liam could tell that Harry was singing very quietly beside him, not exactly sure of what notes to sing. Liam had gotten very good at sight-reading over the years, so he followed along with the harmonies rather easily. He made a mental note to go over them with Harry during their next lesson.

When they reached the end of Aquarius, the musical director beamed. "Considering that that was our first run-through of the song, that was excellent," he said. "We'll fine-tune it later, but for the time being, let's just get right into Act I."

The first act began with George Berger addressing the crowd, so Harry cleared his throat and launched into his monologue. It was amazing to Liam that Harry could get into character so quickly and jump right into the performance with so much energy. He silently hoped that he'd be able to glean some tips off of Harry and develop the same sense of confidence within himself in the weeks that followed.

Though they were simply reading from the script, watching the first act unfold before him was incredibly fascinating to Liam. Though most of the cast members were still getting to know each other, there was an obvious level of chemistry that made the dialogue mesh surprisingly well. Even more impressive was the way that the musical numbers were sounding despite the fact that they hadn't been rehearsed. It all just made Liam that much more excited to see how far their performance as a group would progress as they prepared for opening night.

Liam was so absorbed in the performance that he didn't notice that they were approaching the part that he had been so worried about until he heard the director read the stage direction out loud: 

"Claude and Berger get Sheila in an embrace and bring her down to the floor, ending up kissing each other with Sheila apart from them." With a smile, he quickly added, "No, you do not have to do it right now."

"I'd better remember my breath mints next time!" Harry quipped.

As the rest of the room erupted in laughter, Liam's heart leapt into his throat. It was confirmed: he was going to kiss Harry Styles. 

Looking around the room at all of the smiling faces, Liam was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of dread as he realized just what was being asked of him. How could he kiss another man (Harry, no less) in front of a room full of spectators? How could he expected to do so on stage? What would people...

"Claude?" the director asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Liam," Zayn whispered. "It's your line."

"BUKOWSKI!" Louis shouted, using his best drill sergeant impression.

As the other tribe members laughed, Liam blinked, having been oblivious to the fact that they had carried on with the scene. Flustered, he mumbled, "Sorry, sorry..." as he skimmed through the page and attempted to find his line. 

He managed to recover reasonably quickly, though his mind was no longer focussed on the task at hand. Zayn seemed to notice right away; he nudged Liam to get his attention and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if everything was okay. Liam responded with a quick thumbs up before immediately turning his gaze back to the script. Zayn would undoubtedly tell him that he was making a big deal out of nothing, which he knew was probably true. There was no point Liam trying to make Zayn understand what he was so worried about when he didn't understand it himself.

For the time being, he thought it wise to ignore whatever he was feeling and refrain from concerning himself with what awaited him beyond the initiation to Act I.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first AU fic. Thank you for giving it a chance! Feel free to let me know what you think so far.


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